California Assembly Bill AB2260

California 2025-2026 Regular Session

• Introduced: 2/19/26
• Refer: 3/9/26
• Report Pass: 3/17/26
• Refer: 3/18/26
• Report Pass: 3/24/26
• Refer: 3/24/26
• Refer: 4/8/26
• Report Pass: 5/14/26
• Engrossed: 5/26/26
• Refer: 5/27/26

Caption

An act to amend Sections 1228.1, 1228.2, 1228.5, and 1229 1229, 1241, 1525, and 5101 of, and to amend the heading of Article 2.7 (commencing with Section 1228) of Chapter 1 of Part 2 of Division 2 of, the Water Code, relating to water.

Summary

AB 2260 would expand California’s small water-rights registration framework to include a new category called “small restoration use.” Under the bill, a person or entity could register a right to appropriate water for projects that restore, enhance, or provide habitat for native fish and wildlife, including storage-and-forbearance projects and releases of stored water to improve streamflow. The bill sets size limits similar to other small-use registrations, including caps based on direct diversion or diversion to storage, and it defines how restoration use can be satisfied through instream flow dedications, forbearance agreements, or permit/license conditions. The bill also makes small restoration registrations subject to the same general administrative rules that already apply to small domestic, small irrigation, and livestock stockpond registrations. That includes renewal every five years, possible revocation for unpaid fees or missing reports, and reversion of unused water rights after five years of nonuse. It requires the State Water Resources Control Board to establish fee schedules for these registrations and to give priority to processing restoration registrations paired with a petition for mandatory dedication to instream beneficial uses or wetlands habitat. It also exempts the board’s adoption and revision of general conditions for small restoration use from certain economic impact analysis requirements under the Administrative Procedure Act.

Impact

AB 2260 would amend the Water Code to add “small restoration use” to Article 2.7 governing registered appropriations for small water uses, and it would conform related sections on renewal, reversion, fees, reporting, and board conditions. The practical effect is to create a streamlined pathway for qualifying habitat-restoration water uses to obtain registered water rights, while keeping them within the state’s existing small-use permitting and oversight structure. The bill also updates the board’s fee authority and reporting exemptions so that these restoration registrations are treated similarly to other small registrations for administrative purposes.

Sentiment

The available voting history suggests broad support and little opposition. The bill passed the Assembly committee vote unanimously and was reported out with a recommendation to the Consent Calendar, indicating it was viewed as noncontroversial or at least broadly acceptable among committee members. No committee transcript was provided, so there is no recorded floor or committee debate to indicate significant public disagreement. Overall, the sentiment appears favorable, especially given the bill’s conservation and habitat-restoration focus.

Contention

The main policy issue embedded in the bill is how to balance facilitating habitat-restoration water projects with protecting existing water rights and stream systems. The bill addresses that by making small restoration use subject to prior rights, fully appropriated stream system rules, board-established general conditions, and five-year renewal and reversion requirements. Another possible point of concern is the exemption from certain economic impact analyses for the board’s rulemaking on general conditions, which reduces procedural review even as it may speed implementation. No specific opposition is reflected in the provided materials, but those administrative and water-rights protections are the most likely areas of scrutiny.